In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, the way we interact with the web is on the verge of a major transformation. Matthew Berman, a respected voice in the AI community, recently shared his first impressions of Comet, the new AI-first browser developed by Perplexity. Available for download now, Comet promises a revolutionary browsing experience where an intelligent agent acts on your behalf, navigating the web and performing tasks without you having to interact directly with websites.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the exciting features of Comet, practical use cases, and why this browser could signal a future where browsing is not just faster but fundamentally different. Whether you’re an AI enthusiast, a productivity junkie, or just curious about the future of browsers, this deep dive will give you a comprehensive understanding of what Comet brings to the table.
Table of Contents
- 🚀 What is Comet? An AI-First Browser Built for the Future
- 🧠 Why an AI-First Browser? The Vision Behind Comet
- 🛒 Practical Use Cases: How Comet Works in Real Life
- 🧩 The Perplexity Ecosystem: Search and Assistant Features
- 🤖 How Comet Controls Your Browser: Automation in Action
- ⚙️ Limitations and Areas for Improvement
- 💡 The Future of Browsing: Why Comet Matters
- 🔍 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- 🔗 Additional Resources
- Final Thoughts
🚀 What is Comet? An AI-First Browser Built for the Future
Comet is described by Perplexity as an AI-first browser. Unlike traditional browsers that simply display websites for users to interact with, Comet introduces the concept of AI agents that perform browsing tasks on your behalf. This means you can delegate actions such as shopping, researching, managing social media, or even scheduling meetings to an autonomous assistant embedded right inside your browser.
One of the most interesting aspects of Comet is that it’s a fork of Google Chrome. This means it inherits all the speed, security, and compatibility benefits of Chrome while layering AI capabilities on top. Upon opening Comet for the first time, it imports all your existing Chrome settings, bookmarks, extensions, and logins seamlessly. This makes setup almost effortless, allowing users to jump right into the enhanced browsing experience without any hassle.
What stood out immediately was the speed. Despite being a Chrome fork packed with AI features, Comet feels surprisingly fast, often outperforming Chrome in loading webpages. This is a crucial feature, as users often hesitate to try new browsers if they compromise speed or usability.
🧠 Why an AI-First Browser? The Vision Behind Comet
You might wonder, why build an entire browser dedicated to AI? Why not just integrate AI into existing browsers or use cloud-based agents? Matthew Berman wrestled with these questions himself and uncovered some compelling reasons for Perplexity’s bold move.
Platform Risk Mitigation: When you build on top of existing browsers like Chrome or Safari, you’re at the mercy of those companies’ priorities. For instance, Google and Apple will always prioritize their native AI assistants or search engines. By creating Comet, Perplexity reduces the risk of being sidelined and gains full control over the user experience.
Local Execution and Seamless Authentication: Many browser-based AI agents operate remotely in the cloud, requiring users to authenticate separately and often losing the context of what the user is doing. Comet runs locally, so it has immediate access to all your authenticated sessions, cookies, and the context of your current browsing activity. This means the AI can pick up exactly where you left off and act on your behalf without forcing you to start from scratch. This is a game-changer in terms of convenience and efficiency.
In essence, Comet embodies a new paradigm: “vibe browsing.” This term, coined by Matthew’s producer Alex, captures the feeling of letting your AI agent vibe with your browsing tasks, handling the heavy lifting while you focus on higher-level decisions.
🛒 Practical Use Cases: How Comet Works in Real Life
Perplexity showcases several demo use cases to illustrate Comet’s capabilities, and Matthew put them to the test himself. Here are some of the highlights:
Building a Grocery Cart
One of the simplest demos involved asking Comet to build a grocery cart on Instacart from Walmart, specifically for a butter chicken recipe. Multiple AI agents ran in parallel, browsing different parts of the web simultaneously to compile the list of ingredients. The browsing happens behind the scenes, locally on your machine, so you don’t see every click or page load, but the end result is a ready-to-checkout cart. This parallel task execution is a major productivity boost compared to manual browsing.
Managing LinkedIn Connection Requests
Matthew tested Comet’s ability to sift through his inbound LinkedIn connection requests, identify interesting contacts, and accept all requests automatically. The AI agent navigated LinkedIn’s interface and performed the task quickly and accurately. While Comet provides a chain of thought explaining its actions, Matthew noted a desire for better transparency—such as saved screenshots of each step—which would help users trust the automation even more.
Engaging on Social Media
Comet also demonstrated social media management skills. Matthew asked it to find his recent tweet and quote tweet it with a custom message. The agent located the tweet, drafted the quote tweet, and asked for confirmation before posting. This interaction showed that Comet respects user control and doesn’t post automatically without approval. However, Matthew noticed that the AI inserted a “created with Comet assistant” tag at the end of his tweets, similar to email signatures in productivity apps. While this can be seen as branding, it would be nice if users had the option to disable it.
Checking Product Availability
Comet was tasked with checking local electronic stores to find if the Nintendo Switch OLED model was in stock. Initially, it provided a list of websites but didn’t check them autonomously. After instructing it explicitly to visit and check each site, Comet ran through the list and confirmed the product was sold out everywhere. This use case highlights Comet’s potential to save time on repetitive tasks like inventory checking.
Calendar Integration
Another handy feature is Comet’s integration with Google Calendar. By simply asking, “Who am I meeting today?” Comet pulled up Matthew’s schedule and provided meeting details. This integration allows Comet to act as a personal assistant, consolidating information from your calendar without switching apps.
🧩 The Perplexity Ecosystem: Search and Assistant Features
Since Comet is a product of Perplexity, the Perplexity AI assistant is deeply integrated into the browsing experience. The URL bar defaults to Perplexity search, replacing Google as the default search engine. Opening a new tab brings up Perplexity’s interface, making it easy to start AI-powered searches right away.
Most notably, Comet features an assistant button in the top right corner. Clicking it opens the Perplexity AI assistant, which can access the content of your active tabs. This means you can ask questions or assign tasks related to the page you’re viewing, and the assistant will provide answers or perform actions based on that context.
For example, when watching an interview video between Matthew Berman and Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, Matthew asked the assistant, “What is this video about?” The assistant quickly summarized the discussion based on the video’s transcript and description, showcasing how AI can enhance content consumption without manual searching or note-taking.
🤖 How Comet Controls Your Browser: Automation in Action
One of the more futuristic aspects of Comet is its ability to take control of your browser and execute commands directly. Matthew demonstrated this by asking Comet to interact with Twitter, clicking specific links, and navigating pages autonomously. While there were occasional hiccups—such as delayed page highlighting or errors caused by Twitter’s own glitches—the browser agent eventually completed tasks successfully and relinquished control back to the user.
This level of automation opens up possibilities for streamlined workflows where you can delegate complex, multi-step tasks to your AI agent. Imagine booking flights, managing emails, or assembling grocery lists without lifting a finger—Comet aims to make this vision a reality.
⚙️ Limitations and Areas for Improvement
While Comet is impressive, it’s not without its challenges. Some tasks are still restricted by website policies that prevent automated actions, such as posting comments or replies on YouTube. In these cases, Comet provides instructions for manual completion, which, while helpful, breaks the full automation promise.
Transparency during automation is another area for growth. Users want to see exactly what their AI agents are doing, preferably with step-by-step visuals or saved screenshots. Currently, Comet shows some real-time screenshots during task execution but lacks the ability to save or review these later.
The automatic insertion of branding tags in social media posts, while understandable from a marketing perspective, could be seen as intrusive. Providing users with the option to disable this feature would enhance user trust and satisfaction.
💡 The Future of Browsing: Why Comet Matters
Comet represents a bold leap toward a future where web browsing is no longer about manually interacting with websites. Instead, you interact with intelligent agents that handle multiple tasks in parallel, saving you time and cognitive load. This agent-based approach could redefine productivity, making tedious online activities effortless.
Matthew Berman envisions a world where you don’t have to book flights, assemble grocery carts, or scour websites for inventory yourself. Instead, your AI agent does all the groundwork, presenting you with options to approve or modify at the last moment. This vision also addresses the growing problem of “AI slop” — the noise created by overwhelming AI-generated content. Agents like Comet act as filters, delivering only the most relevant and valuable information.
While Comet is still evolving, it offers a glimpse into a new browsing paradigm that feels exciting and promising. As AI continues to improve, the potential for smarter, faster, and more personalized web experiences is enormous.
🔍 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What makes Comet different from traditional browsers?
Comet is an AI-first browser that integrates intelligent agents capable of browsing, researching, and performing tasks on your behalf. Unlike traditional browsers where you interact directly with websites, Comet acts as an intermediary, automating many online activities.
Is Comet based on Chrome?
Yes, Comet is a fork of Google Chrome, inheriting its speed, security, and compatibility while adding AI-powered features and a native Perplexity search experience.
Do I need to set up new accounts or log in again when using Comet?
No. Comet imports all your Chrome settings, including bookmarks, extensions, and logins, making the transition seamless without requiring you to reauthenticate.
Can Comet post on my social media automatically?
Comet can draft and post on social media but always asks for your confirmation before posting. It respects user control and does not post without permission.
Why does Comet add “created with Comet assistant” to posts?
This appears to be a branding feature similar to email signatures in productivity apps. Currently, there’s no option to disable it, but future updates may provide this flexibility.
Can Comet automate any website interaction?
While Comet can automate many tasks, some websites have technical restrictions that prevent full automation, such as posting comments on YouTube. In these cases, Comet provides instructions for manual completion.
How does Comet handle privacy and security?
Since Comet runs locally and uses your existing authenticated sessions, your data stays on your device. However, always review the browser’s privacy policy and settings to understand data handling fully.
Where can I download Comet?
Comet is now available for download. You can find the latest version and additional resources through Perplexity’s official channels or trusted AI tool libraries.
🔗 Additional Resources
- AI Tool Library: For an up-to-date list of the best AI tools, visit the AI tool library curated by Matthew Berman’s team at Forward Future.
- Lindy Automation Platform: If you’re interested in automating tasks with AI agents beyond browsing, Lindy offers a no-code solution with over 4,000 integrations. New users can get $50 in credits for free by signing up through Matthew’s link.
- Follow Matthew Berman: Stay updated on AI news and tools by following Matthew on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and joining his Discord community.
Final Thoughts
Comet by Perplexity is more than just a new browser; it’s a glimpse into the future of how we’ll interact with the internet. By placing AI agents at the core of the browsing experience, Comet promises to revolutionize productivity, reduce friction, and empower users to delegate mundane tasks effortlessly.
While still early in its development, the browser’s seamless integration with your existing Chrome setup, combined with powerful AI capabilities, makes it a compelling option for anyone looking to enhance their online workflows. As AI continues to evolve, browsers like Comet will likely become essential tools in navigating the digital world efficiently.
Give Comet a try, explore its features, and imagine a future where your browser doesn’t just show you the web—it works for you.
